The
anthrax cases in Florida raised fears of a large scale
biological attack on American soil. The reality is that
such an attack took place in Oregon in 1984. In a plot
to take over the local government of a small Oregon
county, followers of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh poisoned
salad bars in 10 restaurants sickening 751 people with
salmonella. After taking over control of a small town
government, the cult leaders plotted to take over the
county government by sickening so many people on election
day they could get their own candidates elected. State
and federal health officials at first blamed restaurant
workers, but they later learned the real cause.

It
is still the largest bioterrorist attack in U.S. history,
and most people don't even know that it happened.

The
Rajneesh bioterrorism attack has received renewed attention,
including a chapter in a book titled “Germs: Biological
Weapons and America’s Secret War.”

Agents
and Pathogens Rarely seen or Commonplace

One
of the real problems with a terrorist attack with a
biological agent is that the pathogens that could be
used (anthrax, plague, tularemia) are rarely seen in
the United States and the healthcare system must be
made aware of the symptoms and be able to recognize
these symptoms early.

The
other problem is that the agents could be something
so common (like flu) that there is no indication it
is an attack until it has spread. Think this is not
a problem? Think about the lost hours and lost productivity
if a major outbreak of a common disease occurred...

Category
A Diseases/Agents

High-priority
agents include organisms that pose a risk to national
security because they

Can
be easily disseminated or transmitted from person
to person

Result
in high mortality rates and have the potential for
major public health impact